LOST: A GONE Story
by Melody de Calle
Summary: Perdido Beach isn't the only place where everyone over the age of 14 disappeared anymore. Welcome to the city of Auburn, NY. A little historic place. The kids there certainly knew it. You hear about Syracuse. Pretty boring place, eh? Now, the FAYZ 2.
1. Chapter 1

​ONE|

_Another boring review day..._ thought Evan Masters. _Another normal day at West Middle._

It was June 16, the day before his Earth Science Regents. He was a smart kid- lazy, but smart. That's what his teachers told him. There was a reason he was in the advanced classes.

The class was in the middle of another boring lecture from the teacher, Ms. Hamilton. "The Foucault Pendulum proved-" she started. Then she was gone. Poof. Zapped. Evan felt like jumping out of his seat and screaming to the heavens. Some of the students exchanged confused glances with one another.

"Wait- What just happened?" said Allyssa Mikael- a ditzy, popular blonde who had absolutely no idea what ever went on. No one knew how she even got in to the advanced classes. They all thought that her dad bribed the guidance councilor. To complete the stereotype, she was a cheerleader who is dating an equally blonde football player.

"Sweeeet!! She vanished! No more class!" yelled a kid, Nick, who, like Evan, was smart but lazy.

"Umm... don't celebrate yet," said Evan cautiously. "What if some teachers didn't?" He glanced into the hallway. By the look of the utter chaos, there wasn't a single teacher left in the building.

"This seems vaguely familiar...," said Morgan Carter. Morgan always had her nose in a book. She would know.

There was silence in the classroom, a worried silence. All of a sudden, there was a rap at the door. Jake Pierce, Evan's best friend, opened the door. As it turned out, it was Melanie D'Antonio at the door. The resident genius, the drama girl. She was called by most of her friends Anybodys- her favorite role she had ever played. "Morgan, Evan, Jake," she called. "Come with me."

The three of them got up and followed her. Jake was the first to speak up. "Do you know what's happening, Anybodys?" he asked.

"Actually, I think I do," she said sheepishly.

"What?" This time, it was Evan who asked. Melanie shot Morgan a quick look and nodded, confirming whatever she was thinking.

"Do you remember the reports on the whole town of Perdido Beach's kids going missing, just disappearing?"

Evan, Jake, and Morgan nodded. Who didn't know about that?

"Well, I think that just happened to us.

"You mean-" Morgan started.

"Yes," Melanie said. "No adults in Auburn anymore."

"Or no _kids_," Jake grumbled.

The four of them ran outside. There were kids, both elementary and middle-school aged. "Shit," Evan and Jake groaned simultaneously.

"Watch your fucking mouth!" said another girl, Jordan Martin, an eighth grader, who was with her sixth grade brother, Jon.

"Uh... Okay..." Jake said, but you could see he was thinking that she was setting a bad example for her brother and the other kids. "No need to be all angry." Jordan walked away with her brother in tow.

"Mon dieu," said Melanie. "Oh my god."

"Not good," Morgan groaned. "This is not good."

On the other side of the front lawn, near the flag pole, someone, a little boy, was flying. With wings and all, no Superman gliding. Just wings. _Wings_, for Pete's sake.

"My cousin Sam disappeared in Perdido Beach. I heard that he was developing some type of power. He said so in his last call to me. We were close," Morgan said. "Maybe we could reach them now... for some reason, my cell's reception is still up."

"Try it. We need them to hear us," Evan encouraged.

"Okay," she said. She took a deep breath then whispered, "Sam please pick up..."


	2. Chapter 2

​TWO|

Sam was with Astrid, as he was every time he had a spare moment. They had witnessed another gruesome slaughter of a human by a coyote. They had many times in the past few months. The FAYZ was now all they knew.

The FAYZ had been going on for over half a year now. It was their lives and death was a part of it. Astrid and Sam had survived their fifteenth birthdays, some of the few. Most everyone over fourteen was gone. The kids that were left were skin and bone. Except Orc, who was angry about being almost out of beer and any other alcohol, who was rock and bone. Their lives became the FAYZ.

The two of them, Sam and Astrid, were curled up on the couch in the home where Astrid lived. It was almost silent, except for their breathing and the occasional scream from a child outside, usually because of a scrape. "Sam," Astrid suddenly said. "Do you hear that? That noise?"

"What noi-?" Sam started to say. And then he heard it. The noise Astrid was talking about. It was a familiar but all-too-distant noise. It was a music tone from a phone.

"Go get it- it's not mine."

"It's mine- but how?" Sam asked her. He needed Astrid the Genius, not Astrid his girlfriend.

"I don't know. That's a question for Computer Jack."

Sam went off quickly to get his phone. It was in Astrid's room. He left it there for her because he didn't have any way of using it in his own place at Town Hall- not that Astrid had any chance to, but still, he left it with her. He glanced at the caller ID. It was his cousin from New York, Morgan. "This must be a hoax...," he groaned as he answered. "Hello?"

"Sam?" said a panicked girl's voice from the other end of the line. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Is this really Morgan?"

"Yeah. Look, Sam, you know how all of the adults in Perdido Beach just vanished? Well, that's what just happened in Auburn. Just, poof! Gone."

"Dammit... Do you have a nuclear power plant near you?"

"Uh... Not that I'm aware of... But we do have some factories..."

"Morgan, hold on a sec. I have to go get someone." Sam ran down the stairs straight to Astrid. Panting breathlessly, he said, "Astrid, there's a second FAYZ."

She was shocked. "No..."

"Yes. Across the country."

"Sam," Morgan yelled through the phone. "Are you still there?"

Sam raised the phone back to his ear. "Yeah, I'm still here. I want you to talk to someone else, though."

"Okay, put 'em on."

Sam covered the phone with his hand again. "Astrid, talk to her. I'll figure out something."

"Okay. Give the phone to me." Sam held it out to her and she grabbed it. "Morgan? I'm Sam's friend, Astrid."

"Astrid the Genius?"

Astrid winced at her nickname. "Yeah, that's me."

"Okay. I'll tell you everything I told Sam." With that, Morgan started to recount the day's events exactly as she told Sam. "What I told Sam was that all the adults went poof and were gone. It was sorta cool because when it happened, I was in Earth Science reviewing for my Regents, which was supposed to be tomorrow. We don't live by a nuclear power plant, that I'm aware of, but there are a lot of factories."

At the end of the story, Astrid asked a few questions. "Are there any kids who developed any... well, superpowers?"

"Uh, yeah. I saw a kid flying, with wings and all."

"To where?"

"The top of the flagpole. Probably a dare to see if he could. He's a football player, so, he probably had a few too many hits to the head."

Astrid laughed briefly, then returned to being serious. "Oy vey... Are there any others?"

"Not that I'm aware of..."

"Is there anyone else with you that knows what's happened to a further extent than just all the teachers disappeared?"

"Yeah. It's me, two boys, Evan and Jake, and one girl, Anybodys."

Astrid laughed at that. "What's her real name?"

"Melanie D'Antonio."

"She figured it out. That it was what happened to you guys, I mean. Would you like to talk to her? She's right here..."

"Sure, sure. Put her on."

"Okay," Morgan said. "I'll get her. Hold on a sec."

Astrid remained holding Sam's phone. It made her feel... connected to the rest of the world. "Hello?" said a new voice. "Is this Astrid?"

"That depends. Is this Melanie -er- Anybodys?"

Melanie laughed at that. "I see Morgan told you my nickname. You can call me Mel, Melanie, or Anybodys; I don't really care so long as you don't call me bitch."

"No, I won't call you bitch," Astrid laughed. "So you're the one who figured it out?"

"That what happened to us is the same thing that happened to you?"

"Yeah, that."

"Then, I guess so." The two girls laughed at that. "That's still one of the big stories on the news, you know. My mom and dad like to make me watch it. Kinda stupid, if you ask me. Whatcha think about that?"

"If my mom were here, she'd do the same thing. It _is_ a bit stupid, if anyone knew us in Perdido Beach, they'd know most of us hate the publicity. At least, me, Sam, Quinn, and Edillio hate it. Mary hates it, too. Petey, my little brother, well, he has no idea what's going on... as long as he has his games, he's fine and in his own world. I think he's getting a little tired of the same game..."

"If you can find a way here," Melanie said, "we could hook him up with a new one. And with food. You guys must be running out."

"We are."

"Well, it's a damn good thing we live in farm country, then. And that we have a mall here, like four hotels and eight schools."

"You_ are _a city."

"And we have like, five car dealerships. And that's in town. Like, five miles away, there's another town, and then another... We'll have a lot of mouths to feed..."

"Not a good thing."

"But having farms is. And having the seeds to plant is too. It's the middle of growing season."

"We _have _to find a way to bridge the gap to Auburn. A few words of advice, Mel, keep the candy and junk food stored away. You'll need it. And have a ration system. A strict one. That was a mistake we made, not having one. Now all the little kids are skin and bone... the older kids can handle it a little better, but not much. Petey is the only little one who doesn't care as much, although he is very hungry too."

"We'll do that. Or at least try."

"Please do."

"And you try to get your sorry asses to Auburn in some way. Someone will figure out how. Maybe like a cave or something has a portal."

"Maybe... I'll talk to Sam about finding it."

"Talk to Sam about finding what?" Sam walked while Astrid was talking to Melanie about finding a portal.

"Oh, Sam, Morgan's friend Melanie had an idea about a portal in a cave. Could you organize a search crew for it, please?"

"Please?" Melanie said from the phone.

"I'm not sure..."

"They have farms, food, a mall, and a lot of grocery stores..."

"I'm still not sure, Astrid. It's risky."

"They have a ton of stuff there... Please Sam? We could really do some good if we found a way to get there. We just can't tell Caine or Diana, really."

"Astrid, give the phone to him, let me talk some sense into him. Or get someone who can," Melanie said.

"Okay, Mel. Just do it fast." Astrid gave Sam the phone.

"Okay, Melanie. Why should I set up a search party for a portal?"

"Because, Sam, you guys are starving over there, and don't you care about the kids over there?"

"Yes, I do. But we could lose many of them if we sent a search party."

"But if that happens, don't you want others to survive? We have farms, equipment, food, supermarkets, a mall for clothing, hotels... we have a lot of stuff here, a lot of stuff that you need. Are you willing to sacrifice a few men to go to a cave and possibly find something that could save you?"

Sam had been thinking while she was talking. He had given what she and Astrid had been talking about a good thought. He took a deep breath and said his answer. "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

​THREE|

"What did he say, Mel?" Morgan asked. He was her cousin, so she should know what Sam said.

"He's going to find a way to come here. He's sending a search party to the caves to find a portal. An extremely good thing."

"You're telling us?" Evan said. "He could help us through this, and tell us what to do."

"Uh, yeah," Jake said. "What he said."

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Jake," she said. "Do you have a mind of your own?"

"Yeah," he said. "Morgan, I'm hurt by that comment. I do have a mind."

"Shut up, you two. Jake, we know you have a mind, but you don't use it all that much."

"Anybodys! That's not very nice. I do have a mind, and I use it daily."

"Sure. When pigs fly you have a mind," Morgan scoffed. "Learn how to use your mind if you insist you have one."

"Guys, just if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it."

"Evan, you sound like an elementary teacher. We don't need that now," Melanie said, punching his arm. "We need someone with a brain, and leadership skills, both of which you have. I know you do."

Evan, by this time was turned around. He blushed when she said that, and didn't want anyone to see. He knew that Jake would read him the riot act later if he knew, which he probably did. "I guess I do, Mel. I'm not always sure."

"You do. Doesn't he, guys?"

"Uh, yeah," Morgan said. "You have a mind, Ev."

She elbowed Jake in the stomach, knowing even though the boys were friends; they liked to pick on each other more than anything. "Yeah, Ev. You really do have a mind. A good brain at that."

"Thanks, guys. But we should start getting ready for the onset of the FAYZ. What did Astrid tell you guys to do?"

"She told me to get a ration system for the town and to lock up the sweets and the junk food. We should do that so we don't run out. And if anyone knows how to drive, we'll have to ration the gasoline, won't we. We'll have to keep all the perishable foods in a refrigerator or freezer to keep them good for longer. Which means that we'll have to raid the fast food places and use the freezers and the refrigerators," Melanie said.

"Everything will need to be rationed. And we'll need a money system. And we have to keep the fields in order. And make sure that all of the clothes in the mall aren't stolen. We'll need to make sure that people who need clothes have them. And we have to keep all our old winter coats," Morgan finished the thoughts.

"So keep everything?" Jake said.

"Exactly. You do have a brain, Jake. That's a good boy," Morgan said, reaching up to pat his head like a dog's.

"Very funny, Morgan." Jake ducked away from her hand.

"I knew you'd get it."

"Guys, no fighting, remember?"

"Yeah, sure," they said simultaneously. "We remember."

Just then, Evan spotted a little girl crying in the courtyard of the elementary school, Genesee Elementary. "Guys, let's go make sure that little girl is okay. And the other elementary school kids."

"That's an idea. We need to make sure that everyone is okay."

The four of them made the short trek across the street. Evan was the first to talk. "Are you okay?"

"I want my mommy," she sobbed.

"I know. We all want our moms. Even us big kids. It'll be okay."

"I hope so..." Evan gave the little girl a hug. He would have wanted a hug if he were her age.

"We'll get everyone's mommy back. We promise." Evan said calmly to the little girl. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Come with us, honey. What's your name?" Melanie kicked in.

"Molly."

"Well, Molly, we'll take care of you."

"Promise?"

Melanie crossed her heart. "Promise."

Evan picked the little girl up and carried her back across the street with them. "It'll all be okay, Molly. Do you have any older brothers or sisters?"

"Yes, her name is Elizabeth and she goes here."

"What grade is she in?"

"Seventh."

"We'll find her. We'll find her Molly."

In a few minutes, they had found Molly's older sister. Molly's older sister was a person with powers. Nothing major, just a little extra strength. No wonder she was the best female shot putter on the Varsity team. The powers had been developing for years apparently. Evan knew about that, but didn't tell anyone. There had been an accident with someone, but he was not about to tell anyone about that. As far as the others knew, this was only the second person in Auburn with powers. There was bound to be others, maybe from East and the high school, along with all the rest of the elementary schools.

Melanie noticed how Evan seemed distant. "Evan," she said, "are you okay?"

Knocked from the distant world in which he was in, he replied in a startled tone, "Oh, yeah, Mel. I'm fine. A little tired, you know all about those late night Regents study sessions."

"Yeah. I'm a little tired, too."

Across the lawn, Morgan and Jake had their own problems to deal with. There were even _more_ people with powers. One girl was a mind reader. A boy was a true psychic. Another was like the human torch, and yet another was like Mr. Fantastic. All they needed was a kid who could shoot webs out of his hands and one who has gills, and they would have a circus sideshow. They were beginning to regret leaving before Melanie and Evan. If they had stayed with them, they wouldn't have known or been entangled in the mess that they were in now.

"Shit...," they said.

"Okay, that's creeping me out," Morgan said. "Why do you keep saying the same thing as me at the same time, no less?"

"Uh, I don't know..."

Morgan smacked the back of his head Gibbs-style. "You have to use your head. God gave it to you for a reason, Jake."

"Yes sir, Gibbs, sir," Jake joked. He was an NCIS freak. And he wanted to bug Morgan.

"Jake, a, I'm not a boy, b, I'm not Gibbs, and c, I don't mainline caffeine!"

"But you do slap like Gibbs."

"Do you want to be called DiNozzo?"

"Nah, no thanks."

"Then don't call me Gibbs."

"You're more like Ziva anyways."

"Shut up, Jake! Let's just go and find Evan and Melanie. They need to know about this."

"And so does your cousin..."

"Sam will find out soon enough. We still have electricity, and I need to charge my phone. Did I mention we need to find the others?"

"Yes, you did."

"Then let's go, asshole." She punched his arm, hard.

"Ow... That hurt... Yeah, definitely Ziva..."

"Just go, DiNozzo."

"Okay, okay." The two headed off in Evan and Melanie's direction.

"Evan!" Jake yelled.

"Mel!" Morgan called.

"Evan!" A voice called him. Evan spun to the voice. It was Jake.

"Mel!" Morgan yelled. Evan saw this, but Melanie didn't so she reeled around.

"What?" Evan called back. He didn't want to know what they had to say. He feared it.

"We got more mutants!" Jake called back. Evan had his fears confirmed.

"Oh god," Evan groaned.

"You got that right, Ev. You got that right," Melanie said in a dry, emotionless voice.

The city of Auburn was definitely in another FAYZ.


	4. Chapter 4

​FOUR|

There was a riot at town hall. Sam had just told them of the plan. The crowd had broken out into cries of fear, rage, and sorrow.

"What about the little ones?" asked "Mother" Mary Terrafino. She and her younger brother along with a few others cared for the littles in the day care center. She helped them survive.

"This will help them too. There will be decent medicine, diapers, bottles, and some new toys for them if we get there. Computer Jack says that if we can reach them by phone, we should be able to get there. Isn't that true, Jack?" Sam said confidently.

"Yeah. That should be true."

There was a murmur through the crowd. Sam, without even hearing a word knew what they were talking about. Was it safe? Was it true? Can we trust them?

The next person to speak up was Orc. What came out of his mouth was predictable. "They got beer?"

"Probably. They were about an hour away from a Budweiser factory. They're in the middle of wine country. My mom and my Cousin Morgan's mom did the wine trail the last time I went there. Guys, this community is a prime location for farming and fishing. They have food there. Something everyone needs. If we send a small search party, we'd all be working towards life."

Quinn, one of Sam's former friends, now on the verge of becoming his friend again, immediately volunteered to lead the search party. "You can't leave Sam. People here need you more than anyone else."

Sam took a breath. "You, Orc, Edilio, Dekka, and Brianna can go if they feel up to the challenge. Are you guys?"

"Yes," Quinn said confidently.

"Sure," Orc agreed. "So long as I get my booze."

"And he will get his booze," said his right hand man, Howard.

"I'm in," Edilio piped in.

"Yeah, what the hell. I'll go," Dekka shrugged.

"Me too," Brianna agreed.

"You'll start in the morning. You'll take a Jeep- no running, Brianna." She pouted as soon as Sam said that.

Sam ignored her. "Alright. Go and gather your things, only what you need. Have Albert give you some food. You won't have much, so eat sparingly."

The five who were leaving to find a portal left the meeting and went to their respective houses. For Orc, it was his beer. Quinn had his necklace and sunglasses. Edilio had some charms from Honduras. Dekka and Brianna were Coates kids, so they didn't have all that much that they carried with them. They took sunglasses and hats.

The next morning, the five teens left for the desert to look for the portal or any sign of one. They knew it wasn't going to be easy. It was possibly the toughest thing that any of them had ever done. They knew there was a chance of death and an even higher chance of insanity. But there was a high chance of insanity just being in the FAYZ.

Just before the volunteers' departure, Sam pulled Quinn aside. "Try to find a way to survive, brah," he said.

"I'll try, brah. I'll try." The two boys did something that they had not done in a long time. They hugged and cried, just as they used to.

"Come on, Quinn!" Orc yelled. "We ain't got all fucking day!"

"You gotta go now. Be careful," Sam said, regaining his composure. "Bye, brah." With that, Quinn left to join the others in the Jeep. As soon as the door closed, they took off, leaving a trail of dirt behind them. Astrid walked up in that exact moment.

"They'll be all right, Sam. They'll be okay." She gave him a hug in an effort to make him feel better, as a girlfriend would. "Edilio will keep them in line. And Quinn's still a good guy."

"I know," Sam sighed. "But it's not them I'm worried about. It's Orc."

"Worried he'll run out of booze, or that it will make him crazy?"

"Both."

"I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

"We've never been to Kansas, Astrid."

"I know. For some reason I've been saying that when things are changing. Like in _The Wizard of Oz._"

"Changing for better or worse?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling it's both."


	5. Chapter 5

​FIVE|

"Burn the school! Burn the school!"

The chant rocked the walls of the school visibly. There were kids with fire, there were kids with gasoline. In all but few seconds the school would be gone, reduced to ashes. Reduced to nothing but a mass of smoke-filled rubble.

"Stop it, stop it!" yelled a girl. "We can't do this! We can't!"

"And why not!" yelled another. "There are no adults! There are no teachers! What do we need a school for any ways? It'll just be an eye sore!"

"What if someone burned your house? Where would you stay?"

"Everyone, listen up!" Evan ran up to take charge of this situation. "We can't burn the school. For one, it has tools we could need. Another thing is that we wiell need places to meet. You do know what this is don't you? This is exactly what happened to the kids in Perdido Beach! This is exactly what happened to them! Morgan Carter's cousin was in that! He is still alive, and Morgan just talked to him! Isn't that right?"

"That's right!" All eyes turned to Morgan, who walked forward. "Sam Temple, my cousin, is the leader of the FAYZ in Perdido Beach. The Fallout Alley Youth Zone. FAYZ."

"He told us to put a ration on all the food. Something they didn't do till it was too late. They regret that, because now many of them are starving. They've had over six months without any adult."

Melanie walked up to Morgan. "And right now, they are sending a team to see if they can find a way to get to us here in Auburn. You never know."

"Another thing," Jake stood up next to Evan. "Auburn isn't the only town in the FAYZ two. Not by a long shot."

"How so?"

"We figure the FAYZ centers on the steel plant, or another factory or maybe the power plant. We figure that we have ten miles in every direction. Every single direction. Maybe more, we don't know. Since we are all under sixteen, I think that none of us know how to drive. Am I correct?"

There were murmurs through the crowd. "I know how to drive a tractor!" one boy said. "It's about the same."

"And I know how to drive, too," said Jordan, the girl wo spoke up earlier.

"Alright," Jake said. "I was wrong. Jordan, you'll be in charge of teaching people how to drive. " She nodded, satisfied.

"Does anyone know how to hunt or fire a gun?" Evan questioned. A bunch of guys and a few girls' hands went up. "Alright. Some of you will be in charge of policing people. Some will be in charge of food. Okay?"

"We'll also need some people to keep the restaurants running, some people to keep the food ration in place. We'll need printers to give the food coupons out."

"Screw this! This is fucked up. I ain't following this damn code." It was Diesel, the school's chief bully. His real name was Michael Karn.

"As Diesel said. We ain't following this, Fish boy. Who's with us?" said Jonathan, Diesel's follower.

Again, there were murmurs among the crowd. It must have sounded pretty good. Either that, or they were to scared of Diesel to disagree.

A few hands went up. "That's right. And who likes Fish Boy's plan- the world full of rules?"

"Jonathan. keep your fucking mouth shot! You need to learn that not everything revolves around you and your boy, Diesel," Melanie said.

"Shut your mouth Drama Girl. No one cares."

"Is that right? Who wants to live?" Many people's hands went up. Nearly all of the crowd. Everyone minus Diesel and his followers, that is.

"Hmm... Everyone except your gang. What do ya think of that, idiot?"

"Um... Uh..."

"I thought so," Melanie snapped. "More than you ever do."

"Back to business," Jake interrupted them before another word could be said. "Morgan, what else is there to do?"

"Keep everyone organized and away from riots. That way, more people will live. And you may have noticed, some of you have 'powers'. Those of you that do, we would like you to tell us who you are and what your powers are. We need to keep track so those in the first FAYZ can help us if they can get to us."

"What we really need is to make them shut up," Jonathan said.

"What everyone needs is for you to either shut the fuck up and leave, or just leave and mutter your little curses on the way out. No one gives a damn, you bastard," Morgan said.

"Fine then, bitch," Diesel muttered. "Jon, let's go." The two troublemakers left with that final remark.

"They'll be back, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, but do I care is the proper question."

"Do you?"

"Nope. I don't give a damn whether they live or die."

"That's harsh, Morgan."

"I know, Jake. But I don't give a damn."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:** I may not be updating for a while after this one. Believe me, I will be writing, I'll just be on vacation for a few weeks. Just to let you know, my dear readers. I may update one more time before the eighth of this month. Again, it'll be a while until you hear from me again._

_~Melody._

* * *

SIX|

Across the town, ​East Middle was also in a riot. A much bigger riot than at West Middle. Everyone was wondering what had happened. _Where were the teachers? Why did everyone over 14 at the school disappear? _These were the questions that ran through their minds.

One boy took charge of the situation. Emmett Rogers was the one who paid attention to the news and such, things that many others didn't care about. He and his best friend James took control of everyone else. Mainly, because they had powers, the other reason was that they were the ones who would know about what happened.

"Listen up!" Emmett called out.

"What do you want?" said one of the rebels.

"Everyone to listen."

"To what? You going on and on about us not panicking? We're gonna panic anyways! Why should we listen?"

"All right! Go ahead and panic, but still listen! Our parents aren't the ones who have disappeared. _We_ are the ones who have disappeared. Not our parents, our teachers, or anyone else for that matter. _We_ disappeared. Not anyone else. To be honest, our families probably don't know that we're alive. We are, I can tell you that much. But do they know that? I don't think that they do. Do they care? That's a different story.

"How do I know this? I pay attention to the news. Remember Perdido Beach? All the kids under fifteen disappeared. Every single one of them in a ten-mile radius. Do you know what's in a ten-mile radius from the center of town? A bunch of different towns. Weedsport. Skaneateles. Owasco. Aurelius. Sennett. A bunch of other little towns. Who knows? Maybe our radius is bigger. One thing is sure as hell, we have a whole lot more people here. That means a whole lot more mouths to feed here. A whole lot more.

"I don't want anyone to complain, because I doubt a lot of you can drive, so you'll be doing a fair amount of walking. Trust me.

"You won't like it here. I know you'll miss your families, and if you want to see them a gain, you better hope to god your next birthday is your fifteenth. Otherwise, you won't be fifteen for a while." Emmett looked out to the crowd. Some faces were angry, others annoyed, others scared.

"I know it's hard for you to hear, but we have to get off our asses and get over to West. Maybe someone over there knows something we don't. I hope to God they do, because if they don't, we're screwed and you all know it. Everyone knows it. Do you have any questions about why we're going to West, or if you have to or not?"

"Yeah, do we have to?" said one obnoxious girl.

"I suppose you don't. I won't make you. But I will make you work. No one's a kid here anymore. Don't give me any shit about you being too young, because you aren't to young and you know it. We are the older people in this hell hole. We have to carry the weight around here. Does everyone get it?" There were murmurs through the crowd.

Emmett got the feeling that they got it and spoke again. "All right, now who's gonna come with me?" A few hands went up. Not many, but enough to make his long speech worthwhile.

"Okay. Let's go."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Ah, a few new characters are introduced. The characters in this are all based on my real-life friends, and that goes for the other chapters as well. Everyone minus the originals from the series are my friends. _

_Also, I know this is short. It may be the shortest chapter in this story. I know it is at this point. I will have a longer one by next time. _

_Thanks for reading,  
~Mel_


	7. Chapter 7

SEVEN|

Quinn was scared. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. He was selected to be the leader of this group, and lead he would. He would be the best damn leader he could be. He had already decided that.

Quinn knew he could die. It was a possibility in the desert, it was a possibility back in Perdido Beach, and it would be a possibility in Auburn. He knew what the FAYZ would do to them. He didn't know how this town-in which the kids had no knowledge of a nuclear power plant- got to be in a FAYZ. The FAYZ II. There could be more of them, but no one knew of them. The only reason that they knew of this new one was because Sam's cousin lived there and had his number. Family bonding, he guessed. Sam was like his only family in the FAYZ. They had been like bros, but then he "betrayed" them- he didn't know Drake Merwin would hurt them. Drake was now dead, and to be honest, Quinn was glad.

"Quinn! Get your fat ass up now! Ain't you supposed to be the fucking leader of this little expedition thing? Get your damn ass out of the fucking tent, now, or I'll pound your head into the ground!"

"Orc, I am up, and I am coming. I just need to have a little time to get ready. I don't have any powers, or have you forgotten?"

"No I haven't, weakling, now get the fuck out of the tent."

"Orc, all I have seen you doing is drinking beer all day long. You better suck up the attitude or you'll be in for it when we get back."

"Orc, you know what Sam said-" Brianna started.

"Shut up Breeze. Shut the fuck up, bitch. Yeah, I know what the hell Sam said. And I don't give a damn. I never will give a damn. School Bus Sam may be your leader, but he sure as hell ain't the strongest. And who is that? That's right, me. I could push that bastard out of office if I wanted to."

"You couldn't and you know it. All you know is that you're stronger. You know brute force, and that's it. Why do you think that people far you so damn much? They're afraid you'll do what you did to Bette. They're afraid you'll kill them," Quinn said while he held his ground.

"Why I oughtta..."

"I wasn't through, Orc. Everyone knows that you're the strongest and by far the only one able to go into a field of inert-eating worms. Everyone knows that much. I know that. You wouldn't hurt them. You wouldn't because what you did to Bette really screwed you up. It really screwed with your mind. That's one of the reasons you started to drink so much more than I'm sure you already did. You hated Drake Merwin, just like all of us. You're with Sam for a reason-"

"'Cuz I can't stand that Caine kid."

"And you are good after all. That and they can't give you what we can. They don't have you're booze. They don't really have decent food. So are you going to stop trying to be the boss and let me do things my way, or do you need me to take away the booze."

Orc muttered something unintelligible.

"Good then. We tear down camp and then we set off."

"What direction?" Brianna asked.

"North East."

"Alright. D'ya want me to scout a bit?"

"No, it's too dangerous."

"Aw... but Quinn...."

"No buts, Bri. You can't go."

"You sound like a parent." It was true, Quinn was starting to sound more and more like his father every day. He was one of the few that survived their fifteenth birthday, along with Astrid, Sam, and Caine. Orc was due to be fifteen soon, but Quinn was wondering if he would deliberately take the big leap and leave. He could get all the booze he wanted wherever he would go. Or he thought that. He might just stick for kicks. That's Orc for you.

"Okay, we're done!" Brianna called out. Quinn had barely had a chance to roll his own sleeping bag, and he could see that the others hadn't either. "Well, I'm done anyways."

"Yeah..." Quinn mumbled. "As always you need to beat everyone at everything."

"Yup!" She was possibly the peppiest person in the FAYZ. Both of them. "Can we go now? Please?"

"Geez, Brianna. You're worse than a kid saying 'Are we there yet?'"

"Thank you, Quinn. I try," she grinned ear to ear.

"Yeah, yeah. Get in the Jeep, kid."

"Can do."

A few hours in the Jeep brought them to the closest cave. Brianna was out faster than you could say "FAYZ". She knew it too.

"Nope. Nothing in there. On to the next cave."

"Wait a minute. I'd like to look. I can go where you can't, Brianna," Orc growled.

Brianna shrugged and stepped aside. She didn't want a fight, so she just let him through.

"Whatever."

A few minutes later, Orc came out waving his arms like a madman. "Guys! I found something!"

They got up and followed him back into the cave. In the cave, there was a swirling vortex. "Whoa...."

"Now can I have my beer?"

"It's back in the truck. Can you wait a few minutes? I want to see if you found the portal Sam was talking about," Quinn said calmly. He genuinely was curious about this vortex.

"Fine, but you're going in first, oh Fearless Leader."

"Fine." In truth, Quinn was going to do that anyways. He wasn't going to send one of the girls down there, no matter how much they wanted to. And he needed to gain back his respect again. If he did this, he would be respected in the community.

"Wish me luck..."

"G'luck," Orc shrugged. If Quinn lived or died, he got his beer.

"You'll do great."

"Break a leg."

"Buena suerte," Edillio said hugging him.

"Bye." Quinn stepped into the vortex. He was encircled by beams of colors and rays of light. He closed his eyes and the next thing he knew he was in a hotel room. It wasn't as fancy as Clifftop, but it was a hotel room.

"Holiday Inn," he read on the pen by the beds. "Auburn, New York." He had made it. He made a note of the room he was in as he stepped out, putting a book in before the door closed fully. Room 512.

He rode down the elevator and got lost a few times before he found his way out. There was a line of kids running on a street to the right of him. He assumed that was where the school must be.

He sprinted down the street he was on- North Street- to the street that he saw the kids on, which he found to be called Genesee Street. There were more kids than he had seen in Perdido Beach- ever. They were coming in all directions, some from South Street, some from North Street, some from Genesee Street. He plowed his way through people, trying to get there as fast as possible. A day had passed since they had gotten Morgan's call.

"Uh, excuse me- do you know where I can find a Morgan Carter?" Quinn asked a boy who looked to be around fourteen years old, close to fifteen.

"West Middle. Where we're all headed, surfer dude."

"I have to get there now. I'm not kidding. My friend, Sam, is her cousin and he told me to get to her and then get back to him through the portal-"

"Portal? What portal?"

"The one at the Holiday Inn..."

"Oh, where are you from?"

"Perdido Beach, California."

"The place where all the kids disappeared?"

"Yeah, but from our point of view, all the _adults_ disappeared."

"My name's Emmett. Emmett Rogers."

"Quinn. Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get through, like ten minutes ago."

Quinn continued his way through the crowd, pushing his way to the front. Eventually he got there, but not without earning a few fingers and being tripped a few times. Turns out there would be an Orc wherever he went, even if Orc wasn't really there.

"Excuse me," Quinn said to a girl near the edge of the side walk "I need to talk to Morgan Carter. Do you know where she is?"

"Up front."

"Thank you."

Once again, Quinn pushed himself to the front of the crowd on the grass. "Morgan Carter?" he called out.

"Yeah?" said a girl who was standing two feet in front of him. "What d'ya want?"

"Um...you're cousin, Sam Temple sent me."

"And you are...?"

"His friend Quinn."

"Oh!" she said. "I remember you. You two were always playing some prank on me when I was in Perdido Beach."

"That would be me."

"Is he here?"

"Well, no. I have to get back there so we can get here to get some food and shelter... No one else came, there are four others in my group- Orc, Edillio, Brianna, and Dekka. I was the one who took the risk and came here. Do you think someone could come with me back there? I kind of need help getting around..."

"Understandable. I can't go, because I know what's happening, and I have my cell on to call you guys, Evan was the one keeping the crowd in tow, so he can't go... Mel and Jake could go, but they shouldn't..."

"What?" said a guy, Quinn assumed he was Jake. "I'll go."

"And you can't let Sir Crash-a-Lot go without supervision," another girl, who he assumed was Mel, said while elbowing Jake in the gut. "I'll go."

"But you two made the crowd listen-"

"And you and Evan can handle them with the help of Emmett, Brittany, Alexis, and Connor. You know that, even if they are all from different schools. Who knows- Jordan might even throw in a 'Shut the fuck up!' every once in a while. Morg, you're better than me at handling people. I'm sure Jake can survive a day or two without you."

"Jake is _not_-"

"Well, we best be going," Quinn nervously said.

"_Stay,_" Morgan said. "You two aren't going. I'll go because I know people. Jake, I suppose you can come with me."

"Sweet..."

"Not sweet. It's for survival. Lead the way, Quinn."

"All right."

The trio was off, back to plowing their way through the crowd.

"Nice. I know you love me," Jake teased her.

"Jake if you say that again so help me God I'll-"

"Can we get something to eat before we leave? I mean, something perishable that we can eat here and there, because if I eat and my crew doesn't, I'm a dead man walking."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to stop at Wegman's before we leave. We have to walk there, though, so don't complain, Quinn."

When they got there, Morgan started to give the orders. "Jake, peanut butter and jelly. I'll get the bread. Quinn, you follow Jake. He'll bring you to the bread. Okay? Okay. Let's go." They split up and got what they needed. Two loaves of each kind of bread, two jars of jelly and two jars of peanut butter.

"That'll cover us and the four that are waiting for you, hopefully. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Diapers and cough syrup. Oh, and some Prozac."

"Alright then. You'll grab the diapers, and I'll see if I can find the Prozac. Jake, grab the cough syrup."

"Can do."

"This'll tide Mary over," Quinn said, returning with the diapers.

"It better."

"Can we go now? I've never been to California," Jake said.

Morgan exchanged a glance with Quinn that said "he's always like this. Get used to it." She then slapped him.

"Shut up Jake."

"Let's go," Quinn said, "before you two start to make out."

"I don't know about her but I-"

"Shut up Jake!" Morgan and Quinn yelled at him.

He shrunk back. "Okay..."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yeah, I haven't been updating. Mel has been being a slacker with updating. But this should control your hunger for a little bit. 3,100+ words, it's my longest chapter yet. This one actually contains a few Hunger spoilers, and a teenage pregnancy. Nothing graphic, but quite a bit of swearing. You have been warned now, and from now on, the story will be acting it's rating, which is M, in more ways than language.

* * *

**

​EIGHT|

It had been six months. Six months since all the adults had vanished. Six months since anyone had gone to school. Six months since the FAYZ had started. Three since Drake had died. Three since Diana had come close to death in that same moment. Three since she cropped her hair.

Three since she became pregnant.

Something she never thought would happen. At least, not at fifteen. Not in the FAYZ.

Not with Caine's child.

"Diana," he said in a gentle tone. She was his soft spot and she knew it.

That didn't mean that she wasn't mad at him. "What?" she snapped.

"Are you okay?"

"Okay? Do I sound okay? Do I look okay? I'm pregnant, you asshole. With _your child!"_

That got to him. She hadn't told him yet. Sure, he had his suspicions, but he never thought... Never dreamed... "You-you're what?"

"Pregnant! Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"N-no," he stuttered. "I- I just can't believe..." He swallowed and regained his composure.

"How many months are you?"

"Three. Three months give or take."

"Do you know anything about-?"

"No, Caine. How in the world would I know if it was a boy or a girl, or twins or anything like that? No one can give me an ultrasound here!" She was getting angrier by the second. How could this boy be so incompetent? He was supposed to be a leader, but they had been in hiding for three months, coming out only to get food, which still was in short supply.

"Maybe we should go to Perdido Beach," she suggested. "Maybe you could make up with your brother for the sake of getting food for the baby. Maybe."

"Maybe I have to Diana. Just maybe..."

"You do want this child, don't you?" Diana was awestruck. Caine had never seemed like a person who wanted a family- let alone a relationship. "Who are you and what have you done with Caine?"

"It's really me, Diana. Your news changed me."

"Oh, don't tell me you're now on the straight and narrow," she said in a sarcastic tone. This could not be the Caine she knew- and though she didn't want to admit it, loved. He was controlling, bossy, and insane. But he held her together, just as she did for him. They were an odd couple, to say the least, always fighting, never admitting anything to each other, but they did love each other, deep down at least. Not that either would admit that they loved each other. That would be like a suicide to either of them. They would never be Sam and Astrid. They would never be like them, able to be a real couple. Sam and Astrid were so different, yet they were so alike. Diana and Caine, they were so much alike that they butted heads constantly. Both were stubborn and short-tempered. Neither was willing to back down.

Yet at the same time, neither could live without the other.

And that was the reason why, whether they liked it or not, that Diana Ladris and Caine Soren were having a child together. One of them, at least.

They were in a dormitory at Coates Academy. There was nowhere else for them to be. Caine had already tried to take over the power plant, and look where that had gotten them. Drake was dead, not that either was complaining, and they had lost Jack to the townies yet again. Most of the Academy kids were with the townies now. Bug was. They were losing people right and left to the townies, all because they had food. Quinn had discovered that they could fish. Why no one thought of that before was beyond Caine.

After a while in thought, Caine responded to her question. "Yes, I do want this baby. I want it to have a good home, well, as good a home we can give it, anyways. And if that means," he winced, "I have to go and be a good brother and say I'm sorry to my brother, then I'll do it Diana. For the baby."

"For the baby."

Caine was not behaving like himself. Diana was expecting him to throw her across the room with his telekinetic powers. She was expecting that she would have been dead. The FAYZ must have gotten in his head. It must have a mind controlling power, somewhat like the Darkness. The very same Darkness that had almost killed everyone in the FAYZ. It was the thing that made Caine go insane for the first three months of the FAYZ, when she put up with him when no one else would. The deeds that showed no matter what, she did love him more than she was willing to admit to anyone. Not even to herself. Especially not to herself.

"Do you love me?" Diana whispered, barely audible.

Caine pulled her in close, stroking what hair she had. It had grown back from the half-inch buzz she gave herself, but it could barely be a pixie. Her hair grew rather fast, but it was still extremely short. "When you were... almost dead... I didn't let anyone get healed before you. I was begging Sam to kill me because I thought that you were dead. I love you more than my own life, Diana."

She was crying into his shoulder. It wasn't very Diana-like, but then again, her hormones were raging. She wouldn't be like Diana for another six months at least. If this had happened before the FAYZ, which it probably wouldn't have, she would have probably put the baby up for adoption. She wouldn't have had an abortion, she didn't believe in them. She definitely wouldn't have kept the baby, though. She went to a boarding school, so she couldn't take care of it.

Caine kissed her head and cradled her in his arms. He didn't care about anything but her.

"I d-do Caine," she said, between sobs. "I... I love... you." She just sat there in his arms, letting herself be loved for once. Letting someone else in.

She was wearing a boy's shirt so you couldn't really tell if she was pregnant or not. She did have a bump, though, but it wasn't huge. She had a feeling that if she wore her own shirts, though, that people would be able to tell.

"I wonder if I'll be a good mother."

"You took care of me, Diana. You took care of me for three months. I don't know, but me when I'm cranky is probably a whole lot harder to handle than a baby," he tried to sound reassuring, but it was hard when you didn't know what would happen to a baby coming into the FAYZ. He honestly did not know what would happen.

She snorted. "I wonder if you'll be a good father, Caine. If it's a boy, play catch with him when he's big enough. If it's a girl, make her a daddy's girl."

"I don't know if I'm the parenting-"

"You've helped your moody, pregnant girlfriend through a lot. You lead a whole school for a while. You survived the leap- and with your help, I did, too. I doubt we'll be the best parents, but we can try to be good ones."

_I doubt that we'll even be good ones,_ Caine thought. _We can't even get along most of the time. _"We can _try_, Diana. It's going to be hard. I don't even think that we'll be able to be parents. Where will he or she be born? In the dorms? In the nursery? Where?"

"I'm not hugely pregnant, asshole. We have six months to worry about things like that." Her mouth defaulted to smirk, telling him that no matter what, she was Diana. And that no matter what, they would still drive each other crazy. That smirk told everything about her.

She pushed herself away from his chest and stood up. "Now, are you going to go try to play nice with Sam, or shall I make him pity me by telling him my sob story?"

"You're definitely Diana..." Caine mumbled, halfway to himself.

"And who else would I be?" She was glaring at him, waiting for him to answer the question. "Did you think I was different because I'm pregnant?"

Caine shrugged as if to say_ "Well, yeah."_

"You can be such an incompetent bastard sometimes, Caine," she said as she shoved him out of her way. "It's so annoying!"

Caine groaned. He had made Diana, pregnant Diana, the very same Diana that could hurt him in more ways than he could count. It was not good. He braced himself for the worst, although he could very easily just restrain her with his powers and stop it all before it happened and she wound up hurting herself. That or she made him so angry that he forgot about her _condition_ and threw her against a wall.

He was not prepared for what she did next.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Caine? My fucking father? You aren't that bastard, oh no. But you're coming close in how much either of you piss me off. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm any fucking different than before, you fucking asshole. Just because I'm pregnant means that I need more food than you do, because I'm eating for two. I'm no fucking different than before. And there is no fucking way that you can make me be any different than I am now. I hid this from you for three months, and I could have hidden it longer if I had kept my fucking mouth shut.

"Hell, I could have prevented this whole fucking scandal in the first place had I just kept you out of my pants and kept myself from getting knocked up. Had I done that, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, now would we? You know that I could very well shun you for doing this to me. I never wanted to have a child at this age, let alone in this FAYZ. But now, we're going to have the first fucking child born in the fucking FAYZ, thanks to you wanting to have sex while my judgment was very impaired. You know what, Caine? This is the worst place for anyone to be. Anyone. And now, it'll be a bad place for a baby to be. A very bad place."

Caine opened his mouth to speak, but Diana kept going on. "Why must you always be in charge? Why do you want to control me? Sure, I would rather you than Drake boss me around, but I don't want to be bossed around anymore. I don't think that you care, though. You'll keep telling me what to do and how to act and how to think and-"

There was a rap at the door. "Caine? There's a kid here that wants to see you," said a female voice. It was a girl named Holly, a girl with powers. Not very good ones- she talked with birds and snakes- but a "moof" as they were called. A mutant freak. Caine was one, Diana was one, Sam was one. "He's short and nerdy looking. He said his name was Jack. Do I let him in?"

Jack. He wasn't really a double agent, but he came to Caine and Diana every once in a while- he kept them in the loop. "Yeah. Let him in, Holly."

"'Kay Caine." There were footsteps moving away from them, back down the hall. Diana and Caine kept glaring at each other until they heard footsteps coming towards them yet again. This time, it was Jack. It had to be. There was no other person in the FAYZ that could make that much noise. No one in the world who could make that racket without tripping, that is. Caine doubted that he knew that his steps caused earthquakes, but for a smart kid, Jack could be so oblivious to the world around him. The FAYZ around him.

There was a knock on the door. More like a bang, so Caine was even more positive that it was Jack. "Come in Jack. Don't break the door," he said lazily.

The boy entered with a confused look on his face. "How'd you kn-"

"I can hear you from a mile away with those feet of yours. And by the way you knock on the door," he said in a laid-back voice. It was no matter to him.

Diana on the other hand, it was a big deal to. A huge deal. "Who do you think you are pounding on the door like that? You could have broken down the damn door! You idiot! You could have killed us if you splintered the door!" She wrapped herself around her stomach, protecting her baby. She would be an overprotective mother, that was for sure.

"You and your fucking heavy feet," she mumbled.

Caine, who completely ignored the outburst nodded to Jack and said, "So what do you have to tell us at the moment?"

Jack was a little bit shaken by Diana's peculiar outburst, but responded to Caine quickly. "Well, we aren't the only FAYZ anymore."

"Ah," Caine said. He was genuinely interested. "And where might this second FAYZ be?"

"Um... Well, so far as I know, the FAYZ is in New York, in a place called Auburn. Sam's cousin- and yours, but she has no idea you exist, lives there. It was good that they figured out that their cells worked so quickly- and that Sam let me put up the network. Rather, the Temporary Council did."

"Ah." So Sam wasn't the only leader anymore. That was a good thing for Caine.

"Oh, being the leader is too big a job for little Sammy?" Diana's voice was saturated with false pity. Caine smirked at that. It seemed that Diana would never lose her sarcasm.

Jack noticed something was off with Diana. Caine knew, he always knew, but Jack felt that this secret was one that would change everyone's life. "Is there something here that I should know?" He knew that he sounded like a parent, but these two were acting stranger than usual.

Diana glanced over at Caine and mouthed the words, "Should we tell him?"

"He'll find out sooner or later, Diana. Most likely sooner."

"Find out what?" Jack was suspicious. Diana bit her lip, which was a very un-Diana move, as her hand flew to her lower stomach. Jack's jaw dropped. There were a few possible messages that it could convey, but only two were logical- either she had really bad cramps due to PMS, or she was pregnant. It seemed more logical that she was pregnant to him. Her next move confirmed what he was thinking. She stood, one hand on top of her stomach, the other on the bottom, cradling a bulge in her stomach. _Cradling_ her stomach.

"I'm three months pregnant." Those four words confirmed his suspicions even more. Jack knew that the two of them knew that Coates would be a dangerous place for a Mom-to-be. A very dangerous one.

"Who's the father?"

"Who do you think is the father, asshole? Who's the only other person in this room? Honestly, Jack. I thought that much would have been obvious."

"Caine's the father."

"No duh." Caine came up to her and squeezed her hand then gave the soon-to-be mother of his child a peck. Diana slapped him.

"That's for getting me pregnant." She walked over to Jack and slapped him as well. "And that's for being an idiot."

It seemed to Jack that even though she was pregnant, she was going to still have attitude and act like herself- why she wouldn't was beyond him. She was Diana, and Diana had an attitude. And a tendency to slap you or hurt you if you bugged her.

"As I was saying," Caine said, "we have to go make up with Sam and the townies so she can have some care and food. We ran out today, at least of anything with nutrition."

"I hope the council will let us come."

Jack shrugged. He didn't read minds- nor was he part of the council. "I can't really say anything for them."

"Can you talk to them, Jack? Please?" She still had some power over the boy, even though he had a petty crush on another girl, Brianna, not that any love was returned on Diana's part. It never was.

Jack turned on his heel and started to walk out. "Are you guys coming? I think that they'll take pity on you, if not, maybe the kids from Auburn will. Maybe. Hopefully. I think that they have a mall there, so maybe you can get maternity wear, Diana. By the looks of you, you'll need it soon."

She didn't like to admit it, but she was getting big. But the prospect of looking girly again worked for her. And the prospect of new clothes did, too. She took Caine's hand and led him out the door after Jack.

Caine looked at Diana. It was true, she was getting bigger. He had barely noticed her bump earlier. Maybe it was some freak mutation because they conceived in the FAYZ. But it couldn't be because of that. Most of these kids were born in the area, and the radiation didn't effect them. But then again, they weren't born during the FAYZ. None of them were. It could also be that both Caine and Diana had powers. Very powerful powers at that. Their child- possibly children- could be born mutants, be born dangerous. That was more than likely at this point.

"Diana," Caine said to her. "Are you okay? You look-" Caine didn't have time to finish his sentence. Diana ran out of the hallway and into a dorm bathroom and vomited.

"I hate this..." Diana groaned. "I hate being pregnant..." She threw up a few more times before any of them moved, for the two boys had followed her. After she was done, Caine just sat with her and held her until she was ready to move. It was lucky that the room she wound up in was a boy's room, and a rather large boy's at that, because by the time she was done, she needed a new shirt.

"Shall we leave?" she asked them after changing into a new shirt. She wasn't absolutely huge, but she was big. She thought she was huge, but she was always critical of herself. Even when she wasn't like this, she was always critical of her figure.

"Let's."


	9. AN: IMPORTANT!

Hey guys.

I'm really sorry I haven't been updating all that much. I'm working at them now that I'm getting into the swing of my new schedule. So check back soon, and I'll have an update! Next month, I may not update much at all, NaNo is getting into the swing, too.

Love you all for reading!

~Mel.


	10. Chapter 9

​**NINE|**

Exhausted. That's what Morgan was. The travel back to Perdido Beach was tiring, more so than she had thought it would be. She had thought that it would be easy, but no. Nothing in this new life was easy. Nothing at all.

"We're almost here," Quinn said, waking her from her nap. Her ten minute nap.

"Five more minutes," she groaned. Jake snickered at her, so she shot him a "do that again and you die" look.

"After you get out of the Jeep. We're here, Morgan."

"Fine." She grudgingly got up out of the warm Jeep.

"Morgan-"

"Shut up, Jake."

"Look who's suffering from PMS. I was going to say you have to brush your hair, but never mind, then."

"I don't care, Jake. I'm too tired to care."

"Will you two stop it? We're here." Quinn gestured to the house they were now in front of. "It's Sam's house, along with Astrid, Mary, and John's house. I guess it's more their house than his, but he's always here. He'll be glad to see you.

"Oh, and grab the diapers." Morgan did so, grabbing a few of the packages.

"Okay, let's go."

The trio went up to the door and knocked. "Who is it?" a female voice asked.

"Quinn. Is Sam there? I brought company for him. And diapers for Mary."

Morgan heard footsteps coming towards them. A blonde girl opened the door. It looked as if the girl would be about a year older than Morgan at most. About Sam's age. "Yeah, he's here. Mary's down at the center, though. The littles are keeping her pretty busy."

"Ah, well it's a good thing that we brought her some Prozac, too."

"She'll be happy to hear that, along with the fact about the diapers. Who did you bring? Is that Morgan?"

"Yup. And that's Jake, her-" Quinn started to say the word "boyfriend" but was stopped by the death glare that Morgan was giving him. "Um, her friend."

"Ah, well, hello to both of you."

"We brought some food, too," Jake chimed in. "Can we eat?"

Astrid turned to Morgan. "So he's one of those guys?"

"You have no idea."

"Wait, what?" Quinn and Jake said simultaneously. The girls burst out into laughter.

"Nothing, guys," Morgan said through bursts of laughter.

"Um, Sam! Come here! We have guests!" Astrid called into the house.

"I'm right here. No need to yell," Sam popped out from behind the door. His face, which was much more sullen than Morgan remembered it, lit up when he saw Morgan, Jake, and Quinn at the door. "Morgan! How are you?" He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hey Sam," she said in a breathless voice. Her face was smushed into his chest. "Sam. Need. Air."

"Oh, sorry." He let her go. "So how are you? I see you brought a friend- Jake, right?"

"Yessir, that would be me!" The two of them shook hands as Morgan and Astrid exchanged a glance.

"I'm surprised that Mel isn't with you. Where is she?"

"Back in Auburn, with Ev and the rest of the kids. We have no idea how big the area is that we are missing adults, but it has to be pretty big."

"Ah. Well, it's good to see you."

Morgan sensed there was something different between them. They had always been very close cousins, but he was acting strange. Very strange, even for Sam. There was something that was bothering him, and there was something strange about Astrid, too. It was stranger than how Mel and Evan acted around each other, how they acted when there was something happening that was unsaid. There was something that was supposed to be obvious but wasn't. Then it hit her. It was so obvious that it wasn't obvious. "Oh god. Are you...?" she turned to Astrid. "Are you...?"

"No!" she said a little too quickly. "Of course not! Not that I'm aware of, at least."

"Did you and he... you know..." Morgan gulped, "have sex?"

"That's a little personal, Morgan," Sam cautioned her.

"I know, but you're acting so strange... You have changed so much... You're so... different! Cautious, like you're watching every word you day, every step you take."

"Why don't you three come in? We need to talk to you about what is happening to you."

"Everything that you know is about to change. Your lives are going to go to hell when you go back. We call this... thing... the FAYZ. The Fallout Alley Youth Zone. We don't really know what caused it, but we can guess. We live near a nuclear power plant, so we're guessing that it has something to do with nuclear energy.

"But you said that you don't live near a nuclear power plant.

"So what caused your FAYZ? We have no clue. There is nothing that points to anything. Nothing. Why should you be having a FAYZ if all you live near is a steel plant, and even then you don't know if the steel plant is included in it? We have no idea. All we know is that your lives are going to go to hell very quickly.

"Even though you live in the center of farm country, there will be issues with food scarcity. You already said that you have quite a few supermarkets in your town. The food will spoil quickly, though. Especially the produce.

"The first things to go will be the sweets, the things your parents don't want you to eat. The things that all kids want to eat all the time. But this isn't what should happen. It's what will happen, but you don't want it to. You have to place a food ration from the beginning, unlike what we did. We used all our food rather quickly, and now all of us are starving. We could have made the food last so much longer, but we didn't. That was our biggest mistake."

"Okay, so food ration equals good?" Jake asked.

"Yes, a food ration is good," Sam confirmed what Jake didn't want to hear. Food being limited was not a good thing to him.

"Okay."

Sensing the disappointment in Jake's voice, Sam replied, "You'll want the ration later. Trust me. Back to what I was saying, the sweets go first, and then it's all down hill from there, because by that time, most of the meat will be spoiling, and the veggies will go before that. Right now, I would kill for being able to eat something as disgusting as a brussel sprout. They would be so good even though they taste so bad. At this point, I would eat anything. We're six months in to this nightmare and many of the kids have died because of starvation.

"The younger kids get more food than the older kids because they deserve to live past the age of ten. They should be able to see their parents and families again. Not that all the kids don't deserve to, but imagine being five and without your mother. Imagine being scared and alone and crying 'Mommy' but knowing that your mom won't come. It has to be one of the scariest things in the world."

Morgan was saddened at that thought. A five-year-old being without their mother. A five year old, for crying out loud.

"Little Pete was six when this all started, but he's autistic. We don't know what's going on in his mind, but I have a feeling that he's scared, even though he doesn't let on. As long as he has his Game Boy, he's fine. He cares about being fed and clothed, but his game keeps him centered. He's possibly the most powerful being in the FAYZ, and what grounds him is his game," Astrid added.

"My... brother, Caine, thinks that he's the most powerful, but he's not. He's seen Petey in action, but still won't admit it."

"Wait wait wait," Morgan said quickly. "Did you say brother?"

"Yes. I said brother. I didn't know until six months ago. He's rude, conceited, and insolent. Aren't you glad that you have another cousin?"

"Sure, Sam. Sure. Is there anything else, or should we go meet the rest of Perdido Beach? Well, for me, it's re-meet, but Jake has to meet them first."

"I think that's all that has to be told, so I suppose we can go meet the rest of Perdido Beach."

"Okay. Let's go."


	11. Chapter 10

TEN|

There was someone new in the FAYZ. Someone very powerful. Two someones. Elin Sage could tell. It was her "gift" of sorts. Her curse. She was a type of sensor, a very powerful one at that. Unlike Diana, she didn't need any physical contact. Elin needed distance.

As she understood, It was something that happened in her head. A neuron synapse. Something gave her that power. The way Elin was, she needed a reason, something legitimate and even scientific. So, just for the sake of argument, she called it a synapse. "Logic," she mumbled. "Something we lack here in the FAYZ."

From her perch at her window, she could see two boys eating another. They had reverted to cannibalism. The boy's, the one being eaten, blood was pouring out into the street. Elin realized that the poor thing was not dead yet. He would be soon though. The months behind the wall had driven them insane.

"There's another thing that we lack here," she whispered. "Sanity."

Elin herself never claimed to be sane. Not before or during the FAYZ. She would not after, either, if there was an after for them. Yet she was not particularly _insane _either. She was… Elin. Just as Sam was Sam, and Edillio was Edillio. Everyone was their own mix of Sanity and insanity. Each individual was their own unique blend of the two.

Yet most people did not go to cannibalism. The majority of people, including Elin, thought that it was wrong.

That did not mean that they weren't hungry. They took what they got. And that made people make unethical choices, like eating other human beings. "Hunger is inevitable, isn't it Kitty?" she said quietly to her cat, who was on her lap. Elin did not want to eat the cat. Yet she knew that if it came to it, if she was hungry enough, there was nothing but her own twisted concience to stop her.

What it came down to was survival. Elin wanted to survive the ordeal of the FAYZ.

"What happened to me?'

Sam was pacing. Again. He was worried about what would happen back in New York. Morgan had said she left them in capable hands, but he didn't know about it. They didn't know how far it stretched or anything of the sort. He was afraid. For all those in the FAYZ, both of them.

"Sam. Stop. Pacing. You'll only make yourself more worried. You get scary Sam," Morgan said as she held her hands on his shoulders to stop him. "Just stop."

He was in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. "You aren't a super hero, Sam. You may have super powers and be a 'fearless leader', but you are still only fifteen years old. You can't fix every damn thing, Sam. This isn't your fault."

"I can't fix everything," he repeated. "No one can."

"That's right." As Morgan spoke, Astrid came into Sam's "office".

"Sam," She said in a frantic, hurried voice. "People are eating each other! Get the council together!"

_Here we go again,_ he thought. Although cannibalism was unethical and immoral, if the deed was done, it was done. He couldn't bring the kids back from the dead. Though Astrid seemed to think he was the sole leader, he was not anymore. He was one of many, a member of the council. Punishments were not what he had to do anymore, not alone. It was the whole council, _not_ just him. He was not the sole year.

Sam was lost about what to say. Morgan wasn't. "What the hell, Astrid? I just got him to calm down! You and all your stories about cannibalistic children! He is not the only fucking one you can talk to! You get your tiny ass out of here and go to one of the other council members! Sam's got enough on his plate!"

Astrid's face was beat red by the time Morgan finished chewing her out. It was as if no one had ever told her to fuck off. "Excuse me?" she said indignantly.

_Uh Oh. _Sam thought. He knew that having his girlfriend and his cousin, who always stood up for what she believed in, in the same place. He saw both girls readying to fight. Sam had to take action quickly. "Whoa there ladies." He put his hands between them and pushed them apart.

"Morgan," he said as he turned to his cousin, "it's okay. She's allowed to report things to me. It's no big deal. And Astrid," he turned to her, "Morgan is also right. I am not the only one that you can go to. I know that I am your boyfriend. But I really need to be able to breathe easy. I don't always want to worry."

"It's too late for that, Sam," Astrid said dryly. "It was too late that first day. And you," she glared at Morgan. "It's too late for you too, bitch. Don't you ever forget that _I _am his girlfriend. Ever."

Sam could tell Morgan was biting her tongue. "And I have known him longer. So just give me a break and shut the fuck up."

With that, Morgan turned and left the room. "Nice," he sighed and walked out, leaving Astrid in his office.


End file.
